Chapter 14 11 Newspaper King

Buffett met Kay at the New York Weekly News a few days before Christmas in 1976.Graham, her son Donald, Mig, the post's department manager, was having a party there.Several post directors led their guest - Vincent.Manu, a newspaper agent, hides in a room.Manu wanted to get the Post interested in bidding for the Buffalo Evening News.The afternoon paper did not sell well, but the evening paper thrived because of its reputation and because Buffalo's blue-collar class got up early and didn't have time to read it until after get off work in the afternoon. But the evening paper has its drawbacks. It doesn't have a Sunday edition—many readers would spend all day reading it, and more and more advertisers are bullish on Sunday.The city of Buffalo itself isn't ideal either, it's an old, cold, rusty steel city.Worst of all, there are a total of 13 unions entitled to represent newspaper workers and still winning members.According to the statistics of 131 newspapers by "News Herald", "News Evening News" ranks 7th in employee income.

Still, Buffett stubbornly wanted the Evening News to be a major paper that could be distributed in big cities.It has more local households than any other national newspaper.And Buffalo is a city of hard-won habits. Most of its population is native, and the Evening Post grew up with them.Although the city is on the decline, Buffett sees its stable population as an advantage, and he's rushing to buy a newspaper instead of advising others.He wanted to let Graham know beforehand that if the Post didn't buy the Evening Buffalo News, he would be Warren.Buffett is not polite. The Evening News, founded in 1880 as a Republican paper and performance, has been run by the Butler family, which also owns a local television station and a stake in North American Airlines.Its owner Kate in recent decades.Robinson.Butler was a prominent dame who always drove around in a Rolls-Royce with her poodle.Butler built a lavish printing shop surrounded by distinctly non-native tropical plants.In order to avoid conflict with the union, Butler has always spent money generously.Workers who used to bundle newspapers by hand are still delivering the mail after automation.After the newspapers came off the production line, the workers lifted their hands up the conveyor belt as if giving communion—hence the nickname "priests."But since Butler's death in 1974, her family rule has ended and the newspaper is now up for sale.

After the Newsweek meeting, Graham decided that the Post had just crushed a strike and that it would not be popular in a union city like this.The Tribune Company of Chicago also decided not to bid.Broker Mai Nu just lowered the asking price from 40 million to 35 million.He soon got a call from Buffett. "Do you work on Sunday?" Buffett asked. Mai Nu said, "Is this important?" "I thought you might care." On the first Sunday after the New Year in 1977, Buffett and Munger came to Mai Nu's house.They had lunch at Minu's club, warmed by the fire.When they got back to the residence, Buffett brought up the purchase.His proposed $30 million purchase of the Evening News on behalf of Blue Chip Stamps, which Minu disagreed with.Buffett raised the bid to 32 million, but it still didn't work.

Buffett and Munger left the room.Compared with the poor performance of the Evening Standard, their output ① At that time, blue chip companies had more cash flow than Berkshire.Berkshire Already Controls Blue Chips, Blue Chips Soon Becomes a subsidiary of Berkshire Holdings. The price is already quite high. In 1976, the pre-tax income of "Evening Post" was only 1.7 million.But Buffett knew it had the potential to make even more money.He knew that in so many cities, the big papers would grow stronger while the smaller papers would struggle or go bankrupt. The Evening News has practically the entire city's market, its daily circulation is twice that of the morning paper, the Buffalo Courier-Express, and it has 75 percent more advertising.

After a while, when Buffett and Munger returned, Munger scribbled out the official bid on a piece of yellow legal paper: $32.5 million.Minu said, almost. It didn't take long for Buffalo to experience one of the greatest storms in history, which seemed an ominous omen.When Buffett and Munger came to sign the contract, the city was still struggling to survive.Munger was uneasy—after all, buying the Evening Standard was their biggest deal to date.When visiting the luxurious printing factory, Munger said unhappily: "Why print newspapers in the palace?" Buffett jokingly called it the Taj Mahal of the East, but buying the "Evening Post" was a big deal for him. Progress, it's not a stock investment but all of it.Buffett won't let Kay.Graham stepped in, he's going to do it himself.

Buffett had a strategy for running the newspaper before the deal was closed.When he was with Morrie.When Wright, the hard-smoking editor-in-chief born in Brooklyn, introduced himself, he asked, "What do you think of Sunday papers?" Wright said he had been trying to persuade publishers to do Sunday papers for several years.Buffett didn't take a stand, but Wright made it clear he agreed with him. After the contract was signed, Wright hosted a welcome party for Buffett at home.A rowdy group of employees greets their new boss in the backyard."There's news 24 hours a day, 7 days a week," Buffett said, clearly implying that he was planning to expand the Sunday edition.

There was much talk that the Evening News would not be published on Sunday because of such an unspoken agreement in the past between the Butlers and the Conners, owners of the rival Express Courier. The Express Courier is older (it was once owned by Mark Twain) and has more freedom of speech, but hardly makes any money.The Sunday edition is its lifeline, as we can see from the circulation of the two newspapers: "Evening Post" daily "Courier Express" Sunday "Courier Express" 268,000 copies 123,000 copies 270,000 copies The advertisements they print are similar .The circulation of the weekly "Evening Post" and "Express Courier" is 4:1, and the latter can only be maintained by the Sunday edition.

Buffett and Munger feel the balance is precarious.Without a Sunday edition, the Evening News would lose its dominance, and would likely decline gradually.That summer, the nearby Toronto Daily Star announced its Sunday edition.As far as Buffett knows, besides the Evening News, the only major papers are the Cincinnati Post, Cleveland, and New York Post—or metropolitan daily newspapers with no Sunday editions.He hastily wrote Munger a note, humorously reminding them not to be last: Susie used to say that she didn't mind me being the second last in the country with a crew cut, but she couldn't stand it if I was the last.I think our next move in Buffalo is clear.

Soon, Buffett, as the chairman of the "Evening Post", let Murray.Wright was about to design a weekly newspaper. Wright has organized a special working group, and Buffett will check in on progress on a monthly or irregular basis.To quote Wright: I watched my colleagues pull facts and figures from their pockets and send them to Warren's office, and when they faltered, Warren would jump in and say the correct situation.It appears he knows more than the person who wrote the report. Buffett, in high spirits, helped plan the new paper, including advertising rates, pitches and pricing.He wrote a note to some friends in the publishing world: "Kay, I'm guilty of having so much fun with this."

But Buffaloans worried that the depressed local economy could not withstand the desperate struggle between the two newspapers. As November approached, some stores, at least for their own sake, planned to advertise in both Sunday papers, Keith of the Department Store."Nobody wants to miss a paper -- from an advertising standpoint or a journalistic standpoint," said Alford, a representative for the News-Leader and a columnist for the Evening Standard Ray."We knew the moment had finally come and one newspaper was going to be crushed," Hill said. The Express Courier understands this too.Two weeks before the crucial Sunday, it launched a stunning attack, accusing the Evening Standard of violating the Hillman anti-trusteeship act.It has boldly called for a ban on the Evening News' initial release, which is expected to take place on November 13.

This accusation against the Soir is typical of a monopolist.It asserts that Buffett is prepared to subsidize a weekly that loses money because of him—like a chain store that relies on the support of its parent store to undercut its prices somewhere. Mr. Buffett's Evening News is trying to ... crush his competitor in Buffalo, The Courier, with a monopoly. It is said to have provided evidence including that the Evening Post planned to sell seven papers for 6 yuan and a Sunday paper for 30 cents during a five-week promotional period.And the Express Courier, like the papers in Syracuse, Rochester, Albany, and Binghamton, sold for fifty cents a copy. Buffett frankly disputes the charge.It said the Evening News was well on its way to making a profit on Sunday.He said that publishing new papers should only increase competition, not ban it, and made it clear that the Evening News, like any other newspaper, had the right to publish on Sunday, whatever the consequences.Besides, Buffett has no obligation to keep other competitors in business.It's just that others were too unguarded against him in the past. The Courier-Express published transcripts of legal documents in full, as if the lawsuit were the most important event of the century.His bombastic San Francisco apologist also reminds citizens to pay attention to Buffett, an outlander, and to abandon him like a politician who drives out his own interests in order to maintain the local system. The law requires Express Courier to show evidence that its rivals intend to destroy it. Unfair business practices, such as pricing below cost, would benefit Express Courier, but the lines between some competitive tactics and illegal practices are blurred.The key question is whether the "Evening News" is trying to monopolize. According to Fox, the Courier-Express wanted to identify a specific villain.warren.Buffett was called in court by him as a dictator from Omaha—his trump card.At the center of his debate is that Buffett is a millionaire who doesn't care about Buffalo, who just wants to crush the Courier-Express to increase the value of his paper. Buffett responded privately to this.Before appearing in court, he provided information on his father's and grandfather's ties to the newspaper industry.In an oral filing, he spoke of his father's and grandfather's ties to newspapers and his history as a newsboy for Samplitzer: It's not just business for me, of course I want newspaper success, but I'm not going to be satisfied without journalism and success. On November 4, 1977, when a torrential rain came from Lake Erie, Buffett stood in federal court.The entire corridor was packed with Express Courier employees and their families, waiting for a moment that would define their livelihoods.To them, Buffett is a viper.Fosse launched a violent Buffett answered his questions calmly, carefully avoiding various traps.He just provides facts, facts or facts.He is immobile, and nothing can irritate him. Fosse: So, when Blue Chip Stamps decided to buy the Evening Standard, you analyzed the losses and losses, did you? Buffett: I just mentally estimated its current status, publishing capabilities and shortcomings, its past profitability and future potential, its price and other market problems.There are a lot of factors to consider if you want to calculate carefully. Foss: Well, you're saying that you didn't do a written analysis, you just crunched some numbers, like the current financial situation, so -- Buffett: That's your wording.I'm not speculating at all, just trying to gauge the potential of the Evening Buffalo News. Foss: You checked its revenue for previous years, didn't you? Buffett: I checked the revenue, circulation, advertising and other aspects of the past five years. It's a strange trial: The culprit is clear -- the only key is identifying the motive.Fox's strategy is to refute the reasons Buffett offers and then offer his own.So Buffett didn't buy the Evening News for financial reasons, and he didn't spend much time getting to know the paper—his only concern was controlling it and crushing its competitors. Buffett patiently retorted that he bought the Evening News after mentally calculating the facts and figures.All his arguments are in his head.So Fosse took hold of this. Fosse: You just decided to buy this newspaper based on the information provided by Minu, didn't you? Buffett: No, I just considered some of the information he provided, collected some myself, and what we know about the common sense of the newspaper industry. Foss: You didn't inspect factories, facilities, newspapers, discuss with people or anything? Buffett: No. Fosse: So, sir, you had thought about publishing a Sunday magazine before you bought it, hadn't you? Buffett: I wonder if a major newspaper in a city doesn't have a Sunday edition?I'm certainly looking into that possibility. Foss: Have you done any research on this? Buffett: Basically no, I just looked at it myself. Fox: Just you? Buffett: Yes.Circulation and rankings can be found in trade publications. We perhaps need to say that no real businessman invests $32.5 million without research, usually several studies.That would give them a sense of security—the so-called assurance of an expert—even if it wasn't really reliable.At the end there will be someone to evaluate the various situations.This person should be the main manager. Without data support, a person with insufficient self-confidence will not stand in front of the analysis board.If someone says that data support is not needed, others will find it strange. Foss: All right, sir.How many days did you spend in Buffalo? Buffett: Maybe once a month on average. Fox: Like five or six times? Buffett: Pretty much. Foss: Didn't you do your cost estimates during the five days after you bought the newspaper? Buffett: Not based on these five days, but based on the regular financial reports I have read, telephone conversations, and my understanding of some operating conditions of the newspaper industry and the Buffalo Evening News. Fox: And your knowledge of the whole newspaper business, The Washington Post, The Trenton Times, And the knowledge of other industries accumulated by your father and grandfather? Buffett: My grandfather had nothing to do with it. Daniel Foss' assistant.Mason felt that Buffett was completely different from what he had imagined.His unpretentious style, his rumpled clothes were beyond his expectations—it would have taken Mason a million years to realize that this man was actually a rich man. Buffett's words are casual, but credible.He was at pains to make the point that Buffaloans would benefit from having an additional Sunday newspaper.Judge Charles Jr.When Briant asked him to explain why he wanted to follow the example of the Courier-Express to publish a Sunday, Buffett made a few simple metaphors, like carrying them with him. Buffett: You all think the Express Courier has been around for years and is the only one—but the power of habit is strong.Every morning I shave on the same side first, and put on one foot first when I put on my shoes.Humans are creatures of habit, and the products they've used over the years have great advantages. That's what he did to Kay in private.Graham said.No matter when and where, he can talk about business in general and comprehensively.But Buffett doesn't want to appear too smart.As Foss gradually asked the key questions, it became clear to everyone in the courtroom that Buffett knew more about the economics of the Evening Buffalo News than anyone else. Foss: And did it ever occur to you that you might put the Courier-Express out of business by publishing a Sunday? Buffett: No. Fox: Never? Buffett: I think the Express Courier has a long way to go. Foss: You never discussed this issue, did you? Buffett: Yes. Foss finally got his opponent hooked.He walked up to the bench, waving a copy of a recent Wall Street Journal article on Buffett, and read aloud a passage that proved that Buffett had always wanted to monopolize the newspaper. Warren likens owning a monopoly or market-dominating newspaper to owning an unfettered toll bridge that can then raise prices as high or as high as it wants. This quote is Sandy.According to Goetzman, he was Buffett's first friend in Manhattan.Buffett can't argue with a hundred words, but the metaphor of the bridge is too vivid, and everyone knows what he is all about. Fosse: So, did you say that owning a monopoly newspaper is like owning an all-you-can-do toll bridge? Buffett: Maybe I said that owning a small newspaper monopoly, especially in a small city like Fremont, Nebraska, would be a big business without TV competition.But it's not a toll bridge or something I can't remember, it's a good business.Might be better than Fremont's toll bridge. Judge 264: Is there anything important in Fremont? Buffett: My lord, the Fremont papers are in an advertising vacuum.Nobody buys a TV there. Judge: Do you have a newspaper—Buffett: No, I wish I had one. Foss: You're saying that owning a monopoly or dominant newspaper in a small area is like owning an all-you-can-do toll bridge, right? Buffett: I don't want to argue with you on that word.It's just a really, really good business opportunity. Fosse: Because you can set the price as high as you want, right? Buffett: I don't have that strong desire, but you have the ability to determine the price. Fosse: That's the kind of business you want, right? Buffett: I don't have one yet, it would be nice to have one. Foss: Sir, you've used phrases like freewheeling toll bridges, haven't you?Isn't that what you said? Buffett: I just said that in the case of very serious inflation, if there are no constraints, it is very good to have such a toll bridge. Fox: Why? Buffett: Because you have already invested capital, you use past money to build bridges, so you don't have to worry about depreciation. Fosse: So you use the word unfettered so you can raise the price? Buffett: Yes. Foss: You said that the toll bridge can monopolize the entire traffic across the river. Is that what you mean? In fact, Fox didn't even know that when Buffett was a child, he watched his friend Bob pass by.When Russell's home was in traffic, he dreamed of a tollbooth.The blue chip company actually owns 24 percent of the Detroit International Bridge Corporation, which owns the Ambassador Bridge between Detroit and Windsor from Buffalo across Lake Erie.It does have a fee.Fosse forgot this, but he still hurt Buffett. The blue-chip legal team found Buffett's testimony excellent and credible.But is he too believable?Was his passion for controlling the industry too explicit?The toll bridge metaphor of the image was in the minds of those throughout the courtroom. On November 9 — four days before the Sunday of his inauguration — Judge Briant ordered the Evening News banned pending the conclusion of the trial.Although he dodged some questions in response to questions from Morning Post reporters, his long and fast speech worked against Buffett. Briant demanded that the Courier-Express prove in court that its rival had used unfair competition in an attempt to monopolize the newspaper business, and if he could not prove it, he lost the case: Now there are two newspapers, and if the plan is what I imagine it will be, there will be only one. In the judge's formidable opinion, Buffett is an impressive businessman -- very shrewd but unassuming.Not a single word could be found in the pages of his testimony that would reveal his motives.Because the judge did not know that Buffett was used to buying companies based on numbers, he believed that he bought the "Evening News" without even visiting the newspaper printing plant or talking to the workers as "evidence of an attempted monopoly."He even put a spin on the subtitle, "Mr. Buffett Arrives in Buffalo."He admitted with grace that "motives exist only in the minds of men who do not know them."But it is not difficult for him to discover his intentions from Buffett's whereabouts. Mr. Buffett did not hide his financial motives, nor did he pretend not to know that it would benefit his owners if the Evening News cornered the market.But being aware of this possibility, it does not make obvious economic sense to acquire the Evening News at this price, all cash and in this manner. Although he allowed the publication of a Sunday newspaper, he severely limited its sales, marketing, and editorial capabilities to readers and advertisers.But those measures did less than half the damage as the judge's own opinion, whose words cost the Evening News more money to garner public support at such a critical time. The verdict was all over the Express Courier, with photographs of the judges supporting them, and stories of flattery and admiration.The words of the chairman of the local AFL-CIO attorney group representing 122,000 Buffaloans, "Don't buy that newspaper" were quoted on the front page.To make sure everyone knows who it's fighting, the Courier-Express has a new front-page section titled "Buffalo-Owned, Buffalo-Owned." Luo people run ". The night before the new edition, Buffett showed up at the Evening News press office with Susie in blue jeans to check it out.He pressed a button and the newspaper came out.But a bad public image has constrained its sales growth.Readers and advertisers, fearing they would lose their jobs if the Courier-Express failed, sided with the underdog.Most distressingly, there is nothing the Evening News can do about this disadvantage, because the law does not allow them to defame the Express Courier.By the time of their Sunday issue 5, December 18, they had only 147 inches of advertising, while the Courier-Express had 579 inches, although they had 40 percent more ad space.Buffett's newspaper is going through a bit of trouble.Overall, thanks to Berkshire.Hathaway's stock price began to rebound in 1977, selling for $132 per share, and Buffett's assets reached about $740,000, half of which was in the Evening News. Two newspapers waged the age-old news war with all their might, and in Buffett's view, only one would survive. Knowing that the court decision bought it time, the Courier-Express rushed to modernize—automated typesetting and improved equipment.Its executive editor, Douglas."They approved things that I've been asking for for years -- more pages, a landscape section, a bigger comedy page, a bigger magazine page. I raised staff salaries by 25 percent," Turner said. These newcomers scoured the city carefully.Robert.McCarthy, a reporter for the Evening News, said, "If the Courier-Express attacks you in the paper, you don't show up and you stay up all night trying to fight back." The only thing Buffett has much control over is the news. The size of the plate, for which he went all out. "We strive to have more news than anyone else," Buffett told everyone. "If they have seven pages of sports news, we're going to have more news than them. To hell with all the traditions!" In the press office, people felt that the new boss was very different.“Looks like Warren is really interested,” says one old hand, who often sends a note commenting on a story and wears a T-shirt to staff picnics.A group of cynical journalists also liked his skepticism.Instead of arbitrarily calling for economic recovery, he let the newspapers talk about a topic he cared more about, how greedy and immoral the rich are. Reports spoke of a secret hangout in Santa Rosa, California called Bohemian Grove.Every summer, like Merville.Griffin, Gerald.Ford and Ray.Conservative businessmen like Crocker would fly there on the company's plane, gather in the redwood forest, and lament the decline of Western civilization.Use "Evening News" reporter documentary expert Li.In Kopra’s words: “The angle Buffett made sure was to look into whether their planes were getting tax breaks. It was the oil crisis, and he didn’t think that was the right thing to do.” Copra—the reporter who published the front-page bomb— — declined to accept the job offered to him, in part because he expected too much from Buffett running the newspaper. The Evening Standard is still suffering financial losses in the battle for Sunday supremacy. In 1978, the Express Courier circulated 100,000 more copies per Sunday than the Evening News.With Buffalo still in the recession, one could not help but fear that the Courier-Express would go out of business when noticing the number of furloughed factory workers. "The committee has bought out their line," edits Murray."I would call Buffett every Wednesday or Sunday and tell him how many ads we had on Sunday, and it was actually limited," Wright recalls. Buffett often called Wright, his eyes and ears in Buffalo, desperately trying to get the Sunday paper out as early as possible, and an hour's chat was short. "He had a great interest in all aspects of the Sunday paper," Wright said.Buffett would come to Buffalo to meet with big advertisers and retailers.He backed serials and competition—"We did everything we could," Buffett recalls: We have special distribution groups.Every week they would say to me, "This week we sold another 828 copies, this week 750 copies." And then on Friday night, I was able to predict Sunday's circulation, which actually only increased by about 412 copies. In this predicament, Buffett produced Xiangman.Freddie, Harry.Bot or Ken.Think about the idea of ​​asking for help.The man he's after is his friend, Stan in Omaha.Lipsey, publisher of the Omaha Sun.But Lipsey didn't want to go to Buffalo. "Is it okay for you to do this? You go there once a month to see what can be improved?" Buffett said. Lipsey thought for a while: "What kind of job is this?" Buffett carefully considered how to answer, and said: "If you go, everything will change." Lipsey ended up in Buffalo, spending a week there at a time as an assistant to the publisher who had run things after the sale of the Evening Post. But the Evening Post was still severely hampered by the ban.Judge Briant ordered the newspaper to produce a list of its patrons each Sunday.Evening newspaper salesman, every word of the staff may be seized by the opponent's lawyer as evidence of a violation of the court's judgment.At one point they thought the evening paper was discriminatory - a big deal.Ma Sang, a lawyer for the other party, said: "The situation of "Evening News" is not very good. We have the ability to regulate its behavior. We can find evidence and have access to its records." Therefore, "Evening News" basically relies on the federal court. Issued by gift. By 1978, the Evening News had a pre-tax loss of $2.9 million, Buffett's biggest loss in a single year.Lipsey marveled at his poise when he called him regularly from Buffalo. "He's put all his money into it, he's got his Sunday paper hooked, he's locked into a monopoly, and yet he's pushing himself and thanking me for calling." Munger was in a completely different mood, annoyed to Murray when he heard where Buffett was going to speak after the discrimination incident.Wright made a call. "Tell Warren," Munger said passionately, "he can still listen to what you say, and tell him to pay attention to the content of his speech." Munger was very worried about another toll bridge accusation.Buffett just shrugged. But Munger found that the newspaper could no longer determine its own destiny.He even touches on this in the blue chip company's annual report: Heinous lawsuits are notoriously time-consuming, expensive, useless and unpredictable. The ultimate fate of the Evening Buffalo News is still unknown and will take a long time to wait. In 1979, three years after the blue-chip company bought the Evening News, a federal court in New York overturned an injunction and discrimination lawsuit against the Evening News, and Judge Briant came under fire: For the first motive suit, we can find no evidence that Mr. Buffett bought the Evening News to crush the Express Courier, and that it did not engage in unfair competition to capture the Express Courier's Sunday exclusive. market. The record only proves that Mr. Buffett wanted to run the Evening Post as well as he could, without carefully considering the consequences of his competitive behavior for the Express Courier.This is what the antitrust laws promote, not suppress competition. The law has proven Buffett's innocence.But in fact the lawsuit has worked.While the Evening News still dominates the market, the Courier-Express is still far ahead with a circulation of 100,000 more copies every Sunday.Within two months of clearing its reputation, the Minneapolis Star and Tribune Company of the Cowles family of Minneapolis bought the morning paper.Now "Evening Post" is still facing a battle against another A protracted battle for a foreign tycoon. In 1979, the Evening News lost a record $4.4 million. This is the first big loss for Buffett and Munger.Munger recalled: "I personally did a calculation-I looked at how much my stock was worth and how much the Munger family could afford to lose." In 1980, Lipsey began working full-time in Buffalo.Buffett didn't ask him to do it, but Lipsey could tell from Buffett's less casual words and deeds that he actually wanted it very much.Lipsey herself was deeply embroiled in the war with the Express Courier. After Lipsey took charge of the Evening Post, the Evening Post faced a new crisis with the workers.Long before Buffett, the newspaper's 13 unions had benefited from the company, in Munger's words, "jumping goat profits." wrote such a paragraph: A strike at the Buffalo Evening News could only lead to liquidation. Newspaper truck drivers want to try knives. At the end of 1980, they asked for more staff and to be paid when they were not working-this was really a terrible thing.Buffett declined.It was a Monday night in December, at the eleventh hour of the stalemate, Ray.Bull, a representative of the largest union at the News-Leader newspaper, was called back from a church meeting to prevent a strike.Hill knew Buffett well enough that he wasn't trying to scare people.He persuaded the drivers not to compete with him.The drivers were represented by Martin.Bruckner, who had been a bar beater, had been the petty head on his only strike in the past.Bruckner thought Buffett wouldn't dare take that risk in the heat of his battle with the Courier-Express. Someone called in a drunk intermediary mediator.Negotiations continued overnight.Finally the facilitator turned to Hill and said, "Look, Ray, they're going on strike." At 6 a.m. on Tuesday morning, the drivers began to march. With the help of other unions, newspapers began printing newspapers.Then pickets seized the truck, journalists stopped work and took the sheets, and work had to stop. The Express Courier benefited greatly by publishing a joint call for a strike.Buffalo reached the most dire moment. According to one confidant, Buffett was sweating profusely.He knew that his lost market share would kill him if the newspaper were to go out of business for an extended period of time.He either hasten to return to work, or close down.But if he compromises, the other 12 unions will follow suit. Early on Monday morning, he announced that if the newspaper could not be published, he would not pay wages and fire the entire staff.He also said he would rather cancel the Sunday paper if the drivers were affecting the work of the all-important Sunday paper. Richard, the lead negotiator for the Evening News.Fisher felt he really thought so when he hung up the phone. Bruckner is also sweating due to pressure from other unions.Hill told him, "Martin, whatever you're fighting for, you're taking it too far." Finally, Bruckner blinked.The drivers graciously relented, and by Tuesday afternoon the Evening News was on the streets again. "Warren, this is over, and I hope our partnership continues," Hill said. "Ray, you can't stand up with an empty bag." Hill took that to mean that his members would be rewarded for the newspaper's victory over the Courier-Express, but the balance of power had shifted in Buffett's favor, as Hill said: "The situation after every strike is impossible. No change." The severe economic depression in Buffalo took its toll on both papers.The battle for the Sunday market continues. The Evening News scored some small victories, but the gap remained. 5 years later, they're 195,000 vs. 265,000 and it's still losing money, albeit less. Since Buffett bought the newspaper, its pre-tax losses have totaled $12 million. In early 1982, Munger thought they had dug a hole that would never be filled. 如果不算《布法罗新闻晚报》和它遭受的赤字的话，我们本可以拥有7千万美元的资产和每年1千万的赢利。无论布法罗将来发生什么变化，我们都百分之百相信它的赢利会比不买该报少。 过后没几个月，周日的发行量创下200000份的记录，虽然比《信使快报》还少一大截。同时，布法罗也盛传着会有一家报纸关闭的消息。巴菲特激动地否认了这个说法，说他从来没有过这个念头，可是这城市养不起两家报纸。 问题仍然在于，是谁先熬不住。到了9月份，《信使快报》倒闭了。 这家早报每年损失300万美元，是《新闻晚报》的两倍。《信使》的母体——明尼阿波利斯之星暨论坛报业公司的主席奥托。西尔哈说，主要原因是因为它的主要报纸《明尼阿波利斯报》的状况也不好。但他知道，蓝筹公司却一直能靠赚钱的喜诗糖业来维持。 《信使快报》关门的那一天，《新闻晚报》改名为《布法罗晚报》，并开始发行晨报。6个月内，它的发行量就涨到360000——远远超过了它的对手创下的周日读者的纪录，广告率也急剧上升，这也反映了这家报纸劫后余生的读者率和垄断地位。报纸办成个金矿，或者说是架收费桥梁。芒格的话很快就证明说错了，它不仅能赚钱，还能赚大钱呢！ 报社在无竞争的第一年的税前赢利就达到了1900万（这些利润属于完全兼并了蓝筹公司的伯克希尔。哈撒韦）。到80年代后期，该报每年赢利4千万，比巴菲特在蓝筹公司和伯克希尔的总投资还要多。他的循环投资链越来越强劲有力，印花公司为喜诗糖业提供资金，糖业为《布法罗新闻晚报》补充弹药，而《晚报》这个摇钱树赚的就更多了。 巴菲特打破了员工们期望从中受益的美梦。《信使快报》消失后不久，巴菲特出席了在布法罗斯塔特勒宾馆举行的一次报社中层领导的会议。有人问他：“给新闻办公室的人实行分红制怎么样？”这听起来合情合理，那儿的人立下了汗马功劳。 巴菲特冷冷地答道：“第三层（新闻办公室）没有谁能增加利润。”所有的人都呆在那儿。巴菲特只相信追求残酷却公平的资本家信条。巴菲特，《新闻晚报》的老板在困境中冒了极大的风险，而雇员们却不分担损失，现在他们也不能分享成果。 当时也在场的夜间编辑阿尔文。格林说：“我当时就发愣了。这话好像是对所有新闻办公室的人说的。” 雇员们的薪水都增加了，可没他们希望的那么多。格林说：“最大的失望是我们赢得了竞争，我们长了不少薪水，可也没什么特别的。” 在《信使快报》倒闭之后，员工的工资在《新闻导报》的全国排名中从巴菲特购买《晚报》前的第七名降到了第十三名。但《导报》的主席雷。希尔认为巴菲特实现了他的诺言。他说如果他处在那个位置上也会这么干的。 作为布法罗唯一幸存的报纸，晚报面临着过去从未想到过的问题。巴菲特在给伯克希尔的信中也指出，垄断的报纸就没有保证其质量的经济动力了。 业主们会很自然地认为他们的利润来自完美的质量。这话听起来舒服，实际情况就没这么舒服了……不说质量好坏，垄断的报纸总能赢利…… 巴菲特发誓要保证良好的报纸质量，他也大体上做到了。他的报纸保持了同样数量的广告新闻栏目，与全国所有日报相比仍是最高的。 巴菲特和斯坦。利普西还是好朋友，但他来报社不像过去那么勤了，记者们也听不到他读他们文章的消息了。渐渐地，手下人觉得有些失望。巴菲特还是个不错的老板， （也许）不会比别的老板刻苛。可是记者们希望他再大方一些——如果做不到慷慨的话。报纸没有了竞争时的精神。 plum.考普拉走了，转向了广播业，最后成了美国政府在布法罗的助理检举人。他是一个闻风而动的纪实记者，曾经如此为巴菲特激动过。他仍时不时地与巴菲特通信。像其他不希望巴菲特做某些事的人一样，他的感情也很复杂。他说：“我期望的事没能实现。”“但迄今为此，我仍尊敬他。”他又补了一句。 与《信使快报》结束战斗的10年后，晚报走进了布法罗3/4的家庭——全国最高的城市报纸占有率。但布法罗比有两家报纸时更穷了，全市的总读者比《信使快报》时期少得多。 当然巴菲特有足够的权力和理由办周日报，或像其他城市的报纸一样的业务。可即使巴菲特没来布法罗，这个城市也同样养不起两家报纸。客观上，他只是帮着那双看不见的经济之手推了一把而已。一家报社还会倒闭，人们还会失业。恐怕在“人的那不可知的心中”，巴菲特早就想到过事情的发展该是这样的，哪怕他在法庭上。让我们看一下他对一位同事谈的关于另一家报纸生存的前景： 在过去的几年里，数以百计的报纸业主也在增加投资。我想这些所谓的专家们相信一个大城市允许不止一家报纸的存在、兴旺，可惜事实并非如此。 这是巴菲特在1972年写的，比他考虑《晚报》的事时还早了5年。他早就明白，不是第一的报纸是注定要失败的。他只是在布法罗证明了这一点罢了。 在伊利湖边，人们久久不能忘记曾经发生过的报纸之战。很久以后，《信使快报》的老雇员们还对《信使快报》倒闭嗟叹不已。就连他们的孩子都对巴菲特的报纸怀有敌意，可是每周跟胜利方的孩子们一样还得天天花钱买报。福斯的助手（后来成了伙伴）丹尼尔。麦森嘀咕道：“巴菲特到底还是获得了垄断。”